The Core yoga mat organizer in action (image via wired.com)
In a recent blog post, wired.com introduced the world to a new concept: the “Yoga Smugness Quotient (YSQ).” Apparently, the best way to to up your YSQ is to “pile on the hippy credentials” by using the Core yoga mat organizer, a triangular-shaped water bottle and small canister that screw together and fit in the centre of a rolled up yoga mat.
Sigh. My YSQ must be off the charts because when I look at the Core, I see a little bit of entrepreneurial chutzpah (after all, it was designed by a Slovenian teacher who enjoys hiking and singing), but I also see an unnecessary plastic product to take to yoga class, when my regular stainless steel water bottle and pockets will do the job just as well. All that to say that I might just be so yoga smug that I wouldn’t even buy an eco-friendly plastic container to show off how eco-friendly I am.
What’s your Yoga Smugness Quotient? Any other tips to up one’s YSQ?
it's all yoga, baby 
7 comments
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July 26, 2011 at 10:35 pm
Hilary Lindsay
Yoga smugness? WTF! All this yoga teacher can say to that is; no thanks and peace out.
July 27, 2011 at 1:06 am
Poep Sa Frank Jude
Oh, I sooo wish this was a joke! Simply incredible! And absurd!
July 27, 2011 at 11:30 am
Charlotte
I, too, wish this was a joke. I’m continually amazed.
July 27, 2011 at 7:32 am
yoga-adan
“i’m” so smuggy i won’t even comment on the product, and simply stew at the idea that someone thought not from one of my favorite yoga sites didn’t think of this first! 😉
or is that being buggy, not smuggy? 😉
July 27, 2011 at 2:07 pm
EcoYogini
I agree that this product is a bit ridiculous- i’d say plastic isn’t eco-friendly… research is coming out that indicates that even those plastics claiming “BPA-free” aren’t. That and the recommendation is that if you use a water bottle frequently, stainless steel is higher on the eco-friendly quotient (haha) than plastic.
to me, the “yoga smugness” is more a reflection of how some yogis self-reflect or communicate. for example, one yoga studio owner wrote an angry email to our Yoga in the Park group and stated that we were irresponsible and harmful and that we should “study non-violent communication”… with a link. NICE. (it’s a long story and there’s much much more to it, but just a quick example)
that type of “I am a yogi, so I can say mean things but in an authentic way” is yoga-smugness….
July 27, 2011 at 4:34 pm
Roseanne
yeah, i think that kind of “yoga smugness” is what wired.com is talking about in this little post. i think it points to the popular perception of yoga practitioners on several levels: that we’re willing to consume our way to enlightenment, and that we’re smug about being on the path. as you point out in your example, at times it’s true. and it’s a little passive aggressive, and at times even embarrassing.
July 27, 2011 at 5:11 pm
Linda-Sama
when is enough [stuff] enough?